Shaq calls Caitlin Clark’s WNBA treatment a rite of passage
Shaquille O’Neal said Caitlin Clark must earn her standing, as debate over physical play and officiating continues.
By Dev Ramirez · Crypto Correspondent
· 3 min read
Shaq Caitlin Clark rite of passage comments are adding another voice to the debate over how the WNBA handles physical play against the Indiana Fever guard. Shaquille O’Neal told CNBC Sport that Clark is facing the kind of test elite athletes encounter when they reach the professional level, while Clark has called for better officiating and player protection.
O’Neal described Clark as a “fabulous player” and said status is earned rather than granted. According to CNBC, he said he experienced comparable treatment during his NBA career and pointed to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Muhammad Ali as other stars who faced it.
His assessment is his own view of why Clark has drawn such attention from opponents. O’Neal also suggested that some players may resent the attention she receives, characterizing that as professional jealousy. CNBC reported that he said Clark needs to absorb the contact and continue proving herself.
Why are Caitlin Clark’s WNBA fouls under scrutiny?
The discussion follows several highly visible incidents involving Clark and broader concerns about WNBA officiating. The most consequential enforcement action cited by CNBC came after a June 24 play involving Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas.
No foul was called when Thomas made contact with Clark’s throat area during the game, CNBC reported. After a league review, Thomas received a one-game suspension for recklessly making contact with her fist to Clark’s throat area.
Clark addressed the issue on July 3, saying officiating needed to improve and that the league needed to do more to protect players, according to CNBC. Those comments frame the dispute differently from O’Neal’s: Clark focused on the league’s responsibility to enforce its rules, rather than whether tough treatment is an expected part of becoming a star.
Other basketball figures see the issue differently
Diana Taurasi, a three-time WNBA champion who played 20 seasons in the league, pushed back on the idea that today’s game is unusually physical. Speaking at a CNBC Sport x Boardroom event, Taurasi said viewers should look at girls’ Finals games from 15 or 16 years ago for comparison.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver offered another perspective at the July Game Plan event. Silver said the issues surrounding Clark were not largely about officiating and said she had become a political football, which he called unfair to her, CNBC reported.
Clark’s performance has continued alongside the debate. CNBC reported that she became the fastest player to reach 1,000 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists, doing so in 54 career games and surpassing Taurasi’s prior 62-game mark. She also scored a career-high 45 points against the Seattle Storm on July 17.
CNBC’s Aug. 6 report describes the comments as coming in Clark’s third WNBA season. O’Neal used similar “rites of passage” language during her rookie year, according to E! News, so the framing is not new even as the current discussion centers on later incidents and league discipline.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
